Sankirtan Priya Das
Sankirtan-priya Das, also known as Sanjeev Lakhani, graduated from University of Surrey, Guildford, England with BSc Honours Batchelors degree in Computing and IT, and started a career as an IT Consultant in 1995, working mainly within the Financial Services industry, with organisations such as HSBC, Bank of America, Barclays, Lloyds, Santander, Nationwide etc.
Born in a small village in North Tanzania, with no running water or electricity, Sankirtan-priya’s early childhood was steeped in the culture of Bhakti. Every evening the villagers would gather around as his grandma would recite amazing stories from the ancient Vedic epic, the Ramayana. Then at 15, he moved to England with little grasp of the English language and entered a new culture altogether. But with a good head and hard work, he soon attained degree qualifications in Computing and IT. In 1990, he received his first Bhagavad Gita on a night out in the west end. And his connection to his Bhakti roots immediately got revived. The presence of the Bhagavad Gita in his life helped to anchor him through various personal stresses like losing his father and looking after several family member simultaneously afflicted with various mental and physical illnesses.
After 18 years of experience in the corporate working world and finally leaving the ‘rat race’, Sankirtan-priya left his career in the City of London within the Financial Services industry, in 2017, to swap suits for robes and sleep on the floor at the Bhaktivedanta Manor.Sankirtan-priya now travels to many ISKCON locations around the world to facilitate courses, help in building ashrams and support congregation development initiatives.
Acyuta Gauraprema Das
Acyuta Gauraprema Das originally hails from Mumbai (India). Within all the hustle and bustle of city life, he was introduced to Krishna Consciousness when a devotee handed over “Introduction to Bhagavad Gita” back in 1999 during one of his visits to Juhu temple in Mumbai. He recollects how he was in a busy queue and accepted the book in a rush from someone he didn’t pay much attention to and never met again! The book triggered his exploration of Bhagavad Gita in detail which is still on after two decades. In fact, this has been his main driver in preaching mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that how, even without being acquainted with each other, everyone can become an instrument in changing lives of people around us forever through Srila Prabhupada’s books. Currently based in London (UK), he has been actively involved in congregation development since 2011 which helped him to channelise his desire to share Krishna consciousness with others through structured learning and practical guidance of these principles.
Nrityapriya Radha Devi Dasi
Nrityapriya Radha Devi Dasi was raised in the historic city of Delhi (India). She was first introduced to Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is in 2003 through her husband who was by then already touched by the depth of the wisdom this book presented. However, it was only eight years later in 2011, that she started to gather an appreciation for this timeless scripture. She came in touch with ISKCON devotees who helped her to understand and adopt Krishna conscious teachings and principles. She’s inspired by the purity, integrity and simplicity that Srila Prabhupada exhibited which remains her guiding principles till date while helping other souls navigate in their journey to Lord Krishna. She has been connected with ISKCON for over 10 years now and assists her husband, Acyuta Gauraprema Das to connect and care for the community.